How goes your life of prayer? One of the early Christian writers explained prayer by saying: “It is a work of the heart, not of the lips, because God does not look at the words but at the heart of the person praying.”

 Someone once told me: “Routine is the graveyard of true piety.” We go through the motions. Our heart is not in it, and our mind is a million miles away.

We’re churning through distractions like someone flipping through channels, watching everything, watching nothing.

Jesus warned us about the tendency to reduce prayer to mumbling a few words: “In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do.”

It doesn’t matter whether we use many words or few words, as long as those words come from the heart. Do not be afraid to tell God about the pain, the anger, the boredom, the temptations — the good, the bad and the ugly.

If we want to talk to God — if we want to listen to God — there are times when we may not need words at all.

The Letter to the Romans says: “The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words; and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the prayers that the Spirit makes for God’s holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God.”

Is prayer difficult? Having daily time for prayer is like a diet or an exercise programme. You have to force yourself to stick to it. Some days will be delightful. Sometimes it will feel useless. You wonder whether it’s worth the effort.

It doesn’t matter whether you are ancient man battling wild beasts as you hunt and gather or modern man battling traffic jams to get back and forth to work.

Surviving seems to require our full attention. You ask yourself if anyone living in the middle of the world can devote full attention to God. Can anyone devote time to prayer? You can and you will once you realise how much you need Christ just to survive.

One of the bishops of the early Church wrote: “For us Christ is all. If you have a wound to heal, he is the doctor. If you are parched by thirst, he is the fountain.

If you are oppressed by injustice, he is the redeemer. If you are weak, he is your strength. If you desire heaven, he is the way. If you seek wisdom, he is the truth. If you fear death, he is the life. If you are overwhelmed by darkness, he is the light. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!”